Tuesday, July 18, 2017

1995 Uniform Changes

Teams continued to make changes to their identities in 1995, this time it was LA, Edmonton, and Toronto who unveiled new looks. The LA Wizards new identity even came with a slight name change, changing the official name to the Los Angeles Wizards. LA Wizards would still be used as an abbreviated name. The new primary Wizards logo features a full-body wizard holding a hockey stick above his head in celebration. the secondary logo, which will be found on the shoulders, features a hockey stick doubling as a magic wand crossed over map of California, while a tertiary logo, which is basically an updated version of the classic Wizards logo will be used on the front of the pants as well as in some promotional materials. The updated color scheme features a new shade of purple, closer to blue than the old shade, a new, redder shade of orange, and black, which is the base color for the road jersey. The jerseys feature a sublimated design at the bottom. "It's an exciting time for our franchise and I believe the new uniforms and logo reflect that" said owner Ron Nichol.

Elsewhere, the Edmonton Northern Lights also came out with a new look. The Northern Lights' primary logo features a bear paw with a tundra-like landscape and Northern Lights contained within it in the new team colors of purple, black, blue, and a much brighter shade of neon green. The home uniform is white, while the road uniform is now purple with a gradient pattern at the waist. "I like them, I think they look cool" said veteran defenseman Dwight Ingram.

The final team to make an update to their uniforms was the Toronto Racers. Toronto retains the classic steering wheel logo used since the 1950s, but with some modern tweaks. A new alternate logo has been added as well, featuring the initials "TO" with the O stylized to look like a tire. The uniforms have a more classic feel than the previous uniforms, the vertical striping down the arms gives way to horizontal stripes at the waist, reminiscent of the old Racers uniforms from the 1950s and 60s. The colors have been updated as both shades of blue have been darkened. The jerseys also feature an italicized number font to invoke speed. "I love the uniforms" said veteran winger Scott Whitmore, a Toronto native and lifelong Racers fan before joining the team. "I love that we're going back to a more classic look."

In addition to the changes in Los Angeles, Edmonton, and Toronto, the league also entered the second year of their third jersey program. Calgary, Miami, and Milwaukee. The Stingrays will wear a black alternate with a wave pattern at the waist, Milwaukee will wear orange alternates with a flame design on the bottom, while Calgary will wear brown jerseys styled to look like a cowboy vest.